78,000 pounds of baby formula arrives in the US – Reading Eagle

Michael Conroy

INDIANOPOLIS (AP) – On Sunday in Indianapolis arrived enough special baby formula for more than half a million baby bottles.

The 78,000-pound formula (35,380 kilograms) was flown by military aircraft, White House spokeswoman Caryn Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One as President Joe Biden flew from South Korea to Japan.

This is the first of several flights carrying infant formula from Europe, expected this weekend to alleviate the deepening deficit in the US. Flights were allowed by Biden.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Wilsak was in Indianapolis to congratulate the arrival of the first batch in Indianapolis.

The Biden administration, which is struggling to address a nationwide shortage of formula, especially hypoallergenic varieties, has called the effort “Operation Fly Formula”. The crisis came after the country’s largest domestic plant in Michigan closed in February due to security concerns.

The White House has announced that 132 Nestlé Health Science mixture Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior must leave Rammstein Air Force Base in Germany in the United States. Another 114 flights of Gerber Good Start Extensive HA are due in the coming days. In total, about 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of the three blends, which are hypoallergenic for children allergic to cow’s milk protein, are expected to arrive this week.

Indianapolis was chosen because it is the Nestle distribution center. The formula will be unloaded into FedEx semi-trailers and delivered to a Nestle distribution center about a mile away, where the company will conduct a standard quality check before distributing supplies to hospitals, pharmacies and medical offices, a local administration spokesman said. .

Air Force planes are carrying the original batch of formulas because there were no commercial flights available this weekend.

The flight was the first of several to provide “some gradual relief in the coming days” as the government works to strengthen its response to the deficit, Brian Deez, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Sunday.

Reese told CNN “Union State” that Sunday’s flight brought 15% of the special medical formula needed in the U.S., and because of various government actions people should see more formula in stores starting this week. ”

In the long run, he said, the United States needs more formula suppliers “so that no single company has such control over supply chains.”

Under Operation Fly Formula, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services have been asked to ask the Department of Defense for help to pick up a baby formula overseas that meets U.S. health and safety standards so it can get to store shelves faster. according to the USDA.

Alfamino is mostly available through hospitals and home care companies that serve patients at home.

U.S. regulators and manufacturer Abbott Nutrition are hoping to rebuild its Michigan plant next week, but it will take about two months before the product is ready for delivery. This week, the Food and Drug Administration has eased import requirements for baby formulas to try to ease supply constraints, leaving some brands on store shelves and some retailers normalizing supplies for parents who are nervous about feeding their children. children.